FSA Promotes Innovation Through Global Collaboration and Dissemination of Valuable Industry Information
FSA, a leading semiconductor trade association, is the voice of the global fabless business model. FSA’s mission is to accelerate the growth and increase the return on
invested capital of the global fabless model by promoting an environment for innovation.
FSA:
- Provides a platform for meaningful global collaboration between fabless companies and
their supply-chain partners. - Provides forums to identify, debate and discuss business and technical issues.
- Provides members with timely research resources, publications and survey information.
- Promotes the fabless business model worldwide.
FSA PROVIDES AN ARRAY OF VALUABLE MEMBER SERVICES
Supporting the semiconductor outsourcing business model, FSA is constantly evaluating
and adopting new and innovative ways to help build its members’ businesses. FSA has a
well-earned reputation for addressing the unique needs of each member company and
providing a vast number of tools and services, including:
Leadership and Visibility Opportunities
FSA provides members with the opportunity for company, brand, executive, employee, and
product and service visibility. FSA members have a myriad of tools and opportunities to
establish and enhance their presence as leaders in the semiconductor industry.
Education, Networking and Partnership Events
FSA offers numerous industry-focused opportunities throughout the year. Events feature
a variety of topics for many different audiences in various geographies. The powerful
networking that occurs at FSA activities is a testament to the value of affiliating your
company with FSA. Members receive discounted pricing to attend FSA events. Upcoming events
include:
- Distinguished Speakers Series Luncheon
June 19, 2007
Santa Clara, California USA - FSA Suppliers Expo & Conference
September 12, 2007
Santa Clara, California USA - 2007 FSA Semiconductor Leaders Forum
November 7, 2007
Taipei, Taiwan - FSA Awards Dinner Celebration
December 6, 2007
Santa Clara, California, USA
For more information, visit www.fsa.org/events/calendar.asp.
Access to Comprehensive Data, Surveys and Reports
FSA conducts ongoing research and surveys, providing the semiconductor industry with
comprehensive data through a variety of valuable business tools. FSA produces a range of
publications, reports and directories that serve the semiconductor industry. Each member
company receives company-wide access to member resources on the FSA Web site via an
assigned user name and password. Additionally, all contacts listed in the FSA database
from member companies receive a personalized copy of all FSA publications, e-newsletters
and member updates.
Subcommittees Collectively Address Industry Challenges
FSA has a number of dynamic subcommittees where industry volunteers make a difference by actively participating to address industry issues. Subcommittees bring valuable insight and results to our members and the industry to reduce the barriers to conducting business effectively and aid FSA members in their success. Detailed descriptions of each subcommittee are available at www.fsa.org/committees.
FSA Membership – Join Today!
FSA began with 52 founding members and has grown to almost 500 corporate members today.
Members represent a broad cross-section of the industry, including fabless companies and
their supply-chain and service partners. Additionally, FSA membership depicts the reach of
the fabless model around the globe, with members representing more than 22 countries
spanning North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.
FSA IPecosystem (IPe) Tool Suite Enables IP Risk Assessment
Semiconductor IP providers are playing an increasingly important role in the
semiconductor supply chain. FSA has created the first tool in what will become a full
suite of communication and productivity tools. This IPe Tool Suite enables more efficient
communication between IP vendors, IP integrators and foundries for IP interaction, an area
critical for design success. The tools create efficiencies and lower risk by reducing the
time spent collecting and communicating the information required to purchase, integrate
and utilize IP. FSA’s goal is to provide companies who purchase IP with a more efficient
means of integrating and utilizing IP at various intervals including pre-purchase, design,
and manufacturing.
It is important to note: this Tool Suite is not a standard. Instead, it is a collection
of tools that companies can use as is or blend with their existing internal IP efforts.
Unlike standards, which require companies to conform to requirements and change internal
operations, this IPe Tool Suite enhances a company’s internal capability by providing
value to the IP vendor through structured feedback from the integrator. It also enables
the creation of best practices to define a strong communication link between the IP
vendor, integrator and foundry.
It assumes information exchange occurs under a non-disclosure agreement and is designed
to be used as part of a broader evaluation of IP.
HARD IP QUALITY RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL AVAILABLE NOW!
FSA’s Hard IP Quality Risk Assessment Tool, the first tool introduced in the Suite,
consists of a set of questions for seven categories of IP interaction. It communicates the
quality aspects of an IP core, and it develops a risk profile for integrators to evaluate
the quality of the IP. This can be applied to its original focus for third-party IP, or
can be used for evaluating internally developed IP for reuse in other designs. In
addition, it allows both integrators and vendors to compare all of their IP to an industry
best practices baseline for quality.
The Tool has been built around a workflow process, allowing for flexibility and
customization. It gathers information about an IP vendor’s design methodology, foundry
qualification and details about specific IP. The questions are focused on IP families,
making it less time-consuming for the vendor to complete and easier for the integrator to
weight specific factors.
By collecting answers to a series of questions, the integrator can generate a risk
profile that focuses on seven categories for evaluation. These include:
- IP Design
- IP Integration
- IP Verification
- Process Technology
- Product Documentation
- Reliability
- Test
The diagram below shows the process flow for completing the FSA Hard IP Quality Risk
Assessment Tool.
Complimentary To the Industry
FSA’s Hard IP Quality Risk Assessment Tool is complimentary to the entire industry
– regardless of member status within FSA. FSA encourages all IP vendors and
integrators worldwide to benefit from this tool to develop an IP ecosystem based on higher
levels of quality and predictability.
Download the Tool and View Webcast Demos: www.fsa.org/IPecosystem
Future IPe Suite Tools
The second Tool focuses on the licensing process. It has been documented that the IP
licensing period can take up to 22 weeks or more. FSA believes this new industry tool will
shorten this time period by creating efficiencies for IP purchasers and enabling the
negotiation process to be focused on the areas that really matter.
Additional areas planned for inclusion in the Tool Suite include IP technology and IP
manufacturability.
Get Involved
The tools are a result of a collaborative effort by industry volunteers. FSA seeks additional participation; visit www.fsa.org/committees/ip for more information and how to get involved.
FSA HARD IP QUALITY RISK ASSESSMENT TOOL
Who Benefits?
- IP Integrators who purchase 3rd-party IP can use the tool to evaluate and compare one
or many IP vendors (up to 20 at one time). - Fabless and IDM companies who create their own IP can use the tool to evaluate the reuse
of Internal IP and benchmark their IP against industry best practices for quality. - IP vendors can use the tool internally to evaluate the performance of their own IP
against a single industry quality benchmark.
Industry Impact:
- IP Integrators – IP integrators include fabless and IDM companies or anyone
evaluating hard IP cores. This tool assists before, during and after the IP purchase by
enabling the risk assessment of key technical and business questions around the way the IP
has been developed and packaged. It is beneficial for evaluating 3rd party or the reuse of
internal IP, as well as evaluating against an industry-established quality baseline. It
also assists with continued relationships with vendors as well as with new suppliers.
Require your IP vendor(s) to participate in using this tool! - IP and EDA Vendors – Showcase your family of IP products today! In addition to
traditional IP vendors, many EDA companies also create IP. This is a way for both to
showcase the quality of their IP. By using the tool and answering the questions, vendors
can showcase their IP quality. The tool also supports the ability to identify potential
improvements and enhances the marketability of the vendor’s IP. - Foundries – The tool does not require a foundry to do anything additionally or
different! However, the tool does provide another level of IP qualification to give
integrators more information on IP to enhance communications. This complements a company’s
internal foundry qualification program to evaluate IP vendors. This tool eases
frustrations over integrators and vendors not communicating
the accurate process technology. The tool establishes an added level of quality assessment
for the IP portfolio that foundries provide. - Venture Capitalists – This is a valuable tool for VCs working with portfolio
companies who are evaluating 3rd-party IP. It will assist in the internal analysis when
making investment decisions for more efficient investments.
Contact Information
